Hoyts Cinema Technology Group Case Study

Mitel UC functionality lowers overhead and gets rave reviews from cinema giant Hoyts. When Hoyts Corporation, one of the world’s leading entertainment companies, was planning to relocate its headquarters, it became clear that transplanting an existing PABX system would be impractical.

CHALLENGE:

• Faced with a head office move and the growing needs of its major movie business, cinema giant Hoyts Corporation needed a robust and reliable telephony system to reduce overhead and increase staff productivity.

SOLUTION:

• The Mitel UC solution included Mitel switches, IP extensions, conference ports, a VPN Concentrator, and music on hold ports. Handsets included Mitel IP Phone IP115, IP230, IP230 gigabit, IP265 and IP8000 conference phones, and Mitel Communicator.

BENEFITS:

• Remote capabilities for inbound agents
• Free calls between the office and cinemas
• Improved customer experience
• Better call management

Cost of moving existing PBX doesn’t add up

With the company planning to relocate to a new 160-person Sydney head office, the expense of moving the existing system was very high compared to the cost of purchasing new telephony. Hoyts needed a system that would provide immediate savings in call costs, reduce basic maintenance expenses, and include additional resources that could increase productivity. Hoyts also wanted to improve its customer experience.

According to Adam Wrightson, Hoyts Group technology director, the office move provided an opportunity to review the company’s technology and systems and assess how it could best meet present and future needs.

“Hoyts has a strong focus on lifting its performance across all areas of its operation. So moving and maintaining aging technology did not make sense, particularly when you look at operating and maintenance costs. We wanted our telephony to make our customer service more dynamic and promote faster decision making,” comments Wrightson.

Unlike the existing PABX system, Hoyts needed an easy-to-use, robust telephony system that was able to increase efficiency at the lowest total cost of ownership. Ideally, the selected IP telephony system could be deployed across its cinema operations throughout Australia and New Zealand at an affordable cost.

“Telephony goes hand in hand with cinema operations. Whether it is for booking a popular movie or responding to inquiries on show times, an efficient telephony system is integral to the cinema business,” says Wrightson. “Using the one Mitel unified IP telephony system also promotes teamwork and stronger integration across the entire company.”

Wrightson and his team reviewed systems from Avaya and Mitel. Neither of the presented options could match the cost benefits of Mitel. They seemed complicated to use and lacked the functionality and modularity to meet current and future needs.

For Hoyts, Mitel became an obvious choice. Its ease of use and scalability from 10 to 20,000 users proved compelling, particularly when future moves, adds, and changes could be made without expense apart from the costs of handsets. Mitel was able to demonstrate significantly higher functionality and scalability – attributes that competitors could not match without adding expensive hardware and software.

The functionality of the Mitel UC system also enables staff to automatically dial out with just a few clicks from their PC, instead of having to dial numbers manually. Its fully integrated distributed architecture provides major savings in maintenance and upgrades.

Mitel’s ease of installation enabled Hoyts to deploy within weeks

The system was deployed and installed within a matter of weeks. Wrightson says, “There was no need for extensive training. The Mitel install was an easy plug-and-play experience with smooth functioning across 160 seats.”

The solution comprised SG 90 switches, 240 IP extensions, conference ports, 2 SG E1 switches, 60 lines, 1 SG 24A switch, 24 analogue extensions, 1 SG VPN Concentrator, and 2 Music on hold ports. Handsets included 4 IP115, IP230s, 38 IP265 and 2 IP8000 conference phones, along with 160 Extension and Mailbox licenses, and 26 Mitel Communicator with Professional Access extension licenses.

“TELEPHONY GOES HAND IN HAND WITH CINEMA OPERATIONS. WHETHER IT IS FOR BOOKING A POPULAR MOVIE OR RESPONDING TO INQUIRIES ON SHOW TIMES, AN EFFICIENT TELEPHONY SYSTEM IS INTEGRAL TO THE CINEMA BUSINESS.”

Adam Wrightson, Technology Director
Hoyts Group

With the Mitel solution in place, employees can answer calls, from any location, using a desktop PC or a handset. It also enables users to type in a call recipient’s name and make calls using a desktop computer without ever having to touch the handset – it’s a simple click-and-dial process. When a call is answered, the Mitel system enables it to be transferred to any location, including home or mobile numbers. This helps staff work from different locations, take or re-assign incoming calls to colleagues, or route them through to voicemail.

Mitel is Hoyts’ ticket to improving productivity and customer experience

Hoyts customer service has improved since the Mitel installation. There is now a much faster turnaround in call handling with less time spent on call waiting and voicemails. There is also stronger functionality in the helpdesk. The greatly improved customer experience and higher productivity of Mitel are key factors in the organization’s plans to expand the solution to all the cinemas and offices in the region.

The modularity and reliability of Mitel are paying additional dividends. Hoyts is now better managing its inbound calls, especially in peak periods, with unanswered calls being almost nonexistent. And while Hoyts has yet to undertake an ROI evaluation since completing the installation, it is evident that the company has greatly reduced its overhead through Mitel’s UC capabilities and functionality.

Expansion of the Mitel IP solution is in the works

Hoyts plans to extend its Mitel implementation by installing Mitel switches and handsets into its cinema complexes throughout Australia and New Zealand. Once completed, Hoyts will enjoy free STD and international calls between all Hoyts offices and cinemas. Colleagues will be able to see who is on the phone, where they are, and when they can take calls. This seamless feature will lead to higher productivity and a high return on investment after the deployment process is completed.

“USING THE ONE SHORETEL UNIFIED IP TELEPHONY SYSTEM ALSO PROMOTES TEAMWORK AND STRONGER INTEGRATION ACROSS THE ENTIRE COMPANY.”